Subaru parent's operating profit jumps 70% on surging U.S. sales

TOKYO (Reuters) -- Japan's Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., the maker of Subaru cars, posted a 70 percent jump in quarterly operating profit as sales continued to climb in the United States, its biggest market, and a weak yen boosted the value of earnings overseas.

Fuji Heavy said today its first-quarter operating profit was 134.21 billion yen ($1.08 billion), beating the 129 billion yen average estimate in a survey of nine analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. It made an operating profit of 78.72 billion yen in the same period a year ago.

Demand has grown so rapidly in the United States that Fuji Heavy has struggled to meet it. Fuji Heavy, the smallest of Japan's eight car makers, said U.S. sales rose 28 percent to 140,400 vehicles in the quarter, helped by demand for the Legacy sedan and Outback SUVs.

Fuji Heavy has also benefited from a cheaper yen, which makes its exports more competitive and boosts the value of repatriated earnings. The company ships about 80 percent of its Japan-made vehicles overseas.